Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1887-01-06


Tha evils IL mary q ths urnefssas
ersvailinz amnna ths railroads dukina
tie pssl susnfy years are e1nf1esed b
Al msn. but Ne Bsnasdies ars res 20
plain.
Any one 81 al fazniiiax With oar trans
pcrtstio1 Interests knows that great
eraereas has been made uithia that
ane, that re- eely have the rates reen-
larry decreased. bus ths Deshods Of toe
roads have greatly fmprused. thai
many 81 ehe cid and pic1oan prnckiees
have fallen into disrepzfa and cisu4e,
and that 10 this diregfios. - vel - IN
ofhesA sdFanoe N America. under the
sYssem OF competition, has bsen more
essar1y marked than In En9land. Ger
many OF kFanoe, where pateEn1 CIV
erumelts haxe, IN one way e1d an
other, been seeking to do for the eth
Ia What, IN Amariaz, tbs eitizsn Il
dotuR much more ef5sisntly for him
self.
Our oufiEe eDmmsrcs, foreign and do
nestle, rests on ehezpsF rates for
tnrsuRh than for loeal business. This
system % charges 10 nos she work OF
one nan, o. Of pool; Il u nos tbs elaar
conception Of au5 commercial orEaniza-
ton 0dsFfd 20 tE2nsportaflcn. IL has
grown NJ gradually and uninlsnii0n-
ally, and IL must be tTaoed 20 some in
hnance outside 81 the control Of pools or
Of ieRislation- IL has bsen dus 70 tins
eli pervading law Of eompetiton which.
ike the Il At forcs of gravity. has de-
dned the limits or orbits OF each COM
naeFcisi oenseF. II 10 not e0neeivabie
that tF&fse managers would, for mere
pleasare alone, carry freight for less pay
one hundred than ffty miles. when
done IL IL done uEder compulsioa Il Is
3 ssnssesion, . compromise. made
necessary By the river, or the canal, or
he discovery Of new facilities of pro-
daotiou or construction greater IN one
locality than IN anosheR.&
This TRANSPORTATION syatem ID an ac-
espted fact. We do not say il is the
ideal system, dispensing equal and ex
act justice 70 all concerned, but We say,
faulty as u may be. sll business plans
and purposes rest on il; 10 ID steadily
improving, and any radical change, any
enaeiment that overthrows Il and SUP
stitutes aoother, must, whatever its
altinste consequences, be disastrous to
every interest ~ today established.
teal economy, the rzdie-l defect in the
bill nov uadsr disc1ssesn In the Senate.
Even II Il we're possible, without 3 jar.
- make this change. We are quite GER
tain that to producer and CONSUMER
alike the change would work great mis-
chief; that whatever opinion one may
hold as 10 tbs benefits watch, years
hence. are 90 follow, she results Cor Q
long time will ks an entire disruption
Of all existing commercial relations.
Take, for instance. Louisville a. q
tobacco market, or Minneapolis a. Q
grain market. or Memphis az cotton
market, section will strike directly at
tsese cities. and at all interior cities,
and destroy she business connections,
which are the growth Of generation.
section 4 10 as follows:
"It shall be unlawful for any common
carrier sabisct 10 The prov sions of this
act 10 charge or receive any greater com
pensati0E In the aggregate for tie
transportation Of passengers, or Of
liks kind OF property, under substan-
italy similar circumstances, for q
shorter than for longer distance over
the same line, In the same direction,
sue shorter being included within the
longer; bot this shall not be construed
a. authorizing any common carrier
within the terms Of this act to charge
and receive as great compensation for
. shorter as for q longer distance"
To this there is added Q provision
which virtually authorizes the commits
sion to suspend or annnl this section,
showing doubt 10 che minds Of the
committee of its value; admitting, in
effect, that they are simply experiment
ing With matter Involving the welfare
Of all the people.
The railroads will, IL the bill passes,
either have TO apply the through rates
20 all local points, or they will abandon
all competIsive or through business 70
tbs river, the canal and the Canadian
roads.
IL they apply through rates to oil
local points. all business will be cen
tered in New YORK. That city will
ayefshadow this country as Paris does
France. All interior points will sink
into insigniheance and impstence, and
We will have such Capitalization Of
commercial aud political power as We
ave not heretofore dreamed Of.
On the other hand, II Ii roads With.
.
all attempts to control competitive bust
ness, the value Of oar farming lands In
tue West and South, with the market.
able value of all Western and SoutherH
products, will at once decline. II would
put an embargo on all exports mere
effective than would be the blockade OF
our ports. Il would paralyz e our whole
internal oomDeroa.
fns eject would b. to annul the nat.
tural advantages OF points where water
and rail compete, and put all on a dead
level. Tie system which makes il pos.
siole 70 ship through cars from Sar
francisco to New York would Slows
disinteRrate, and the various trnnk lines
would be cat up into mere local Foads
For all this there is no compensation,
The wheat grower in the State of New
York will be happisF. because his West
ern competitor - shut out Of Eastern
markets. and she cotton planter along
the Atlantic coast will not have 20 much
20 fear from Texas and Arkansas, bus Il
will be the many sacrificed for the few.
Certainly, this Is not the character Of
legislation the times demand. We want
to enlarge the malk sts Of the preducer;
we uant more customers for cur com,
Whsat and cotton We want lever, NOT
higher, rates OF transportation. We do
not question the motives Of she gentle
men In charge OF the Inter State Com
merce bill, bot we are certain that IL Il
u passed vith section as Il stsnds. the
evtl 10 agriculture and TO commerca VII
- afaksN y